Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)

I wish the Minister of State well in his new portfolio. He will have a good start today because all the work on this legislation had been done prior to his appointment and he will, therefore, experience a honeymoon period.

On behalf of the Labour Party, I welcome the Bill and I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution to the debate. Many of its provisions were addressed in the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Act 2004 and we had a good debate with the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, on that. The most notable and welcome provision is the extension of the period of adoptive leave, following the recommendations of the working group on the review and improvement of maternity protection legislation. I regret it has taken almost three years to bring the Bill forward in contrast with the recent Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2004, which was railroaded through the House at break-neck speed last week. This legislation could have been introduced sooner.

The perception for many years may have been that the arrival of an adopted child did not require the same advance preparation as did the birth of one's own child but this is not the case. The adoptive process is long and stressful for many parents, particularly where they adopt their child from abroad. The assessment process is intense, tough and lengthy for reasons we all fully understand and every support should be given to adoptive parents at this time.

I welcome the Bill if it provides more support and solace to prospective adoptive parents. Due to the declining number of children available for adoption in Ireland, there has been significant growth in the number of foreign adoptions. For example, in 1997, there were only 84 foreign adoptions and that number increased dramatically to 647 in 2000. I am not aware of current figures and I would appreciate it if the Minister could provide them. I presume they are significant because many people like to adopt foreign children.

With regard to foreign adoptions, the adoptive parents frequently must spend time in the country from which they intend to adopt the child. This will often mean having to take days or even weeks off work. A good friend of mine had to travel to the country involved on a number of occasions because difficulties arose. As Deputy English stated, couples experience difficulties with foreign adoptions and, while the time off provided in the legislation is welcome, it will not be sufficient in cases where there are difficulties. I understand we cannot legislate for that that but this issue should be examined in exceptional cases. The Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, will update legislation on adoption in general and this issue should be considered then.

I would like him to address another issue. I cannot understand why a woman must be younger than a man to adopt a child. Numerous surveys have been published over the years, which highlight that women live, on average, ten years longer than men. Perhaps the man should be younger. Why does a woman have to be younger than a man to adopt a child?

I am pleased with the provision to allow adoptive parents time off work to attend pre-adoption classes and meetings, as they are obliged to anyway. This was an anomaly when compared to the provisions for parents who have children naturally. Significant preparation is involved before the adopted child is brought into the family. It is a life altering change for adoptive parents and families and the ability to attend the necessary classes and meetings should not be constrained by work commitments.

All prospective adopters, whether they are involved in domestic or inter-country adoptions, are required to attend an average of six pre-adoption interviews with social workers to discuss their applications. These usually take place during the normal working day in the health board or adoption agency offices. This means, therefore, that prospective adoptive parents often have to give up a few days work to attend the interviews. The health boards usually provide courses and this often requires taking time off work as the courses run for a few days. Given the obligation on parents to attend these interviews, every support and all the necessary time should be given to the parents to fulfil these requirements.

This Bill complements that Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill 2003, which was passed earlier this year. While adoptive mothers do not have to go through pregnancy, their entitlements to leave from work should correspond to those for maternity leave. A new person is joining the family and an adoptive parent should be afforded the same time to spend with a new child as parents and a mother who has given birth to a child. It is, therefore, welcome that the Bill ends the noticeable differentiation between pregnant mothers and adoptive mothers in accordance with the Government's work-life balance programmes under the Sustaining Progress agreement.

I ask the Minister to indicate in his reply whether he is satisfied that the number of social workers who conduct interviews with adoptive parents and work with them before the adoption is sufficient to meet demand. I remember dealing not too long ago with a woman who had been through the adoption process and expressed concerns about the low number of social workers in the field. Up to a few years ago, the Southern Health Board had the highest level of applications for adoption of all health boards, with 23% of all first applications for inter-country adoption. I understand that approximately six staff deal with applicants in the Southern Health Board. Does the Minister think this is sufficient? Over the years many people who applied to adopt found they were too old to do so by the time they were interviewed by social workers. This is a shame. People who propose to adopt a child should be supported rather than left for years until such time as they are too old.

This legislation will have positive effects for Irish adoptive mothers in particular. As I said when I spoke on the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill in February, more and more women are in the Irish workforce. While women have been specifically targeted for employment in our workplaces at various times over recent years, many obstacles remain in their paths and many issues remain to be resolved. I refer Members again to recent statistics which bear out just how many women have joined the workforce in recent decades. The number of women working grew from 212,000 to 488,000 between 1976 and 1996, and by 2001 women comprised 50% of the workforce. The proportion of working women with partners and children increased from 44% to 50% in recent years. If we are to encourage women to remain in the workplace, we must encourage the introduction of legislation such as we are considering as well as more progressive provisions.

Changes in maternity and adoptive leave provision have not kept pace with the dramatic increase in the number of women in the workforce. Many of the thousands of women who have joined the workforce in recent years are adoptive mothers and it is shameful that we are only now catching up after years of neglect in the adoptive leave area. In general, Ireland compares very poorly in a European context in terms of holiday entitlements for workers. We are far below the European average on public holidays and the amount of paid leave for employees in various circumstances. While the Bill goes some way to correcting this for adoptive parents, we have a long way to go to meet European norms of public and other holiday entitlement for the Irish workforce.

When I spoke here in February on the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill, I referred briefly to child care. It is fitting to refer to this subject again in the context of the Adoptive Leave Bill. With many of the deficiencies in the area of maternity and adoptive leave addressed, it is time for the Government to turn its attention to the enormous child care crisis. An effective solution to the crisis would obviously have major benefits for adoptive parents as well as all other new parents. When couples adopt, child care may be one of the first priorities they must address. Figures outlined in a survey recently published on www.recruitireland.com showed that many Irish workers now spend more on child care than on their mortgages or rent. Clearly, the cost of providing child care is a major economic disincentive to work and effectively excludes many parents, particularly women, from re-entering the workforce.

Given the cost of child care as outlined in the survey, it is clear that many parents and potential workers will not be able to provide such care without financial support from the Government. The Government has failed abysmally to meet the child care needs of working parents. Prior to the previous general election, the Progressive Democrats promised to fund an additional 40,000 child care places but the Government has come nowhere near meeting this figure. The Government has cut crèche supplements and slashed community employment schemes, including those which provided child care. Parents, including adoptive parents, require a range of options. There should be more workplace crèches and professionally-run child care centres. As a one-to-one private arrangement is most suitable for many parents, it should be possible for child minders to offer such a service without having to go though undue bureaucratic procedures.

While Ireland is one of the wealthiest countries in Europe, we lag far behind most other EU members states in the provision of child care facilities. The Government should concentrate its efforts on State-provided and funded child care which is affordable and accessible. I ask the Minister to make child care a priority during the remainder of his term of office and to address the two main concerns I have outlined today. The first of these is the number of social workers who deal with proposed adoptive parents and the second the age limit at which a woman can adopt a child.

I take this opportunity to wish all adoptive parents well. Adoption is a difficult but very worthwhile process. The Labour Party will support this Bill which gives parents every assistance and encouragement. I hope the proposals the Minister of State Deputy Brian Lenihan, is considering will be accepted to give adoptive parents even more support.

See this speech in context